Research Projects & Collaborations

The Beginning - A Conceptual Framework

In 2009, AÇEV published a concept note, Building a Generation of Reconciliation: The Role of Early Childhood Development in Peace Building, which outlined the organization’s rationale: the association between peace and early childhood interventions and programs. This conceptual paper was the first attempt by the foundation to articulate its vision for peace, extrapolating from the evidence on ECD and its own programs. In particular, the evidence drew upon AÇEV’s parenting initiatives, namely the Father Support Program and the Mother Support Program, which bring together groups of fathers and mothers, respectively, to promote harmony and democratic values and to reduce violence and abuse.

Research and Collaborations

Motivated by AÇEV’s conceptual framework, and in collaboration with several academic, philanthropic and policy agencies, the following work has recently been conducted or is currently underway.

Establish evidence-based research targeted on early childhood development and peace building

A database of the multi-disciplinary research on ECD and peace building has been created.

An Internet poll, designed to ascertain expert agreement on the hypothesis that ECD is a pathway to peace, has been conducted and analyzed. Lean more here.

The hypotheses proposed by the partnership are being tested through program evaluation.

Coordinate an effective strategy regarding collaboration with major international organizations promoting peace building and childhood interventions

United Nations: An alliance was formed with the UN General Assembly (UNGA), through the participation of H.E. Mr. Nassir el-Nasser, president of the 66th UNGA session. A second collaboration was initiated with UNICEF, which is also actively engaged in building peace through education.

Academics and Scholars: The Ernst Strungmann Foundation (ESF) meeting will bring together academics and scholars from multiple disciplines to: (1) assess the role of ECD and familial relationships in the process of peace building; and (2) explore novel approaches to translating science-based knowledge into concrete action within peace building initiatives. The ESF meeting, scheduled for October 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany, provides an appropriate format and venue for an academic, multidisciplinary exploration of this topic.

Early Childhood Peace Consortium: This consortium brings together leaders in effective practice, new and emerging knowledge, finance, philanthropy and international policy to create a legacy of sustained peace, drawing on the transformative force of ECD. The first general meeting of the consortium convened in September 2013, at the United Nations in New York. For more information, please visit the Early Childhood Peace Consortium page.

Global Health Leadership Institute: For the past five years, Yale University’s Global Health Leadership Institute has hosted an annual workshop to bring together select delegations of researchers and decision-makers from different countries to address a problem of strategic and practical importance. In 2013, the AÇEV model has been selected as a strategy for scaling up a country-specific program to suit the needs of other diverse nations and societies around the world. An international, week-long meeting is currently being organized, involving delegations from five different countries, to discuss the content, format, and scale-up of several different kinds of interventions, each of which has proven highly effective locally and has the potential to be globally disseminated. The meeting was held in June 2013 at Yale.